Saturday, December 12, 2009

And every stranger's face I see Reminds me that I long to be

I am home.
And I just ran 2 miles with Bea and Loren. It felt really good to 1. run outside 2. actually move my body after my insane few days of travel.
Let's take a look at the last few days shall we?
First of all, when I left Dar es Salaam, it was over 90 degrees with humidity almost as high. When I landed in NYC this morning, it was 31 degrees. I've been use to being out in shorts and sweeting my ass off for the last 2 weeks. Running tonight in temps about freezing was a bit of a shock to my system.
It's a little after 6pm here in NYC, Dar is 8 hours ahead so I feel like it's the middle of the night.
I've sorta been traveling since thurs, my last few days look like this:
Thurs morning: Drive from Bukoba to about 1k from the Uganda border. (a little over an hour drive) do bike handover, drive back to Bukoba. Thurs afternoon, fly to Mwanza on a Fantasy Island type plane, 45 minute flight. 4 hour layover, have dinner. Thurs evening, 2 hour flight to Dar. Get in late, argue with hotel clerk about shitty room with shower that doesn't drain.
Friday: hang out in Dar for a few hours, really just killing time. 3pm leave for airport, hit horrible traffic, cab driver makes NYC cabbies look like grandmothers driving to church on sunday by driving on sidewalks, over ditches, and just creating lanes.
5:30 fly to Dubai-flight time about 5 hours. 2 hour layover in Dubai airport, one of the most bizarre places on earth.
2am Dubai time take off for NYC. Flight time: 13.5 hours. Land about 7 am.
Loren, saint that she is, loads Bea into the car and comes and picks me up.
So basically, I feel like I've been hit by a truck.
Like I said, running felt great. It's been about 3 weeks. I was advised to start off on the treadmill. I figured since I took an extra week off of running, running short outside would be ok. I had no foot pain while I was away.
I know several of you want to hear more about the trip, so stay tuned. Once I get a handle of the time zone and sleep and all that, I'll post more with pictures.

2 comments:

Girl In Motion said...

Mommy's Home!! Yay!!! Wow, I didn't know you were on your own this last week, I figured Loren was with you the whole time, you brave thing. Can't wait to hear all the details, and that includes the Dubai airport, was the toilet flusher in diamonds? Get some sleep and be ready to tell all!

L.A. Runner said...

Yeah for being home AND for a pain-free run! My word, you need some rest. I'm really excited to hear/read more about your trip and to see the pictures. Welcome back!